Bihar to have mental asylum

Published: Thursday, October 16, 2008, 13:35 [IST]

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Patna, Oct 16: The Bihar government has decided to set up a mental asylum in the state, as following its bifurcation, the state is devoid of mental hospital and the only such institute is now in the jurisdiction of Jharkhand.

Official sources here today said the government had mooted a plan to open a 100-bed full fledged mental hospital at Koelwar in Bhojpur district and Rs 3.45 crore had already been sanctioned for renovation of an existing building.

However, the sources admitted that because of some laxity on the part of building construction department the renovation work was still to take off.

The sources said some minor work, including fencing of the hospital building and repair of walls, was required to start the mental hospital.

The delay in the setting up of the mental asylum would tell upon the state exchequer as the government would have to pay Rs 3.77 crore to the Ranchi Institute of Neuro Psychiatry and Allied Sciences (RINPAS), Ranchi, for treatment of 207 Bihari patients admitted there.

In absence of any mental asylum, these patients had to go to Ranchi.

Interestingly, some of the other buildings located on the premises of the Koelwar Mental Hospital where OPD facility was available, were still being used as CRPF camps.

The health department had already drawn the attention of the building construction department towards the delay in the renovation work and requested it to expedite the construction soon. The health department had also written to the home department for shifting of the CRPF camp, the sources informed.

The sources further said once the indoor services in the hospital commences, the state government would also make a complete budgetary allocation to run the mental asylum.